Semantic and spatial factors in environmental memory

Reaction time (RT) in simple categorization tasks was predicted to vary as a function of the relatedness among environmental items. Differences in RT were interpreted as reflecting differences in proximity or strength of associations in environmental memory. In Experiment 1, subjects sorted names of familiar local buildings according to which seemed to go together. Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed major clusters whose members were related in function and, within these, smaller clusters of buildings related by spatial proximity. In Experiment 2, subjects responded “Yes” if two items on a trial were both local buildings and “No” if one item was local and one nonlocal. Subjects responded significantly faster to pairs taken from the cluster analysis that were related by both spatial proximity and function than they did to unrelated pairs or pairs related in function only. In Experiment 3, a free-associaton task identified related pairs of spatially proximate, functionally dissimilar environmental items. In Experiment 4, RTs to these pairs did not differ from RTs to pairs of spatially proximate, functionally dissimilar items or from RTs to pairs unrelated functionally and spatially. Spatial proximity and functional similarity together contribute to the organization in memory of buildings in the physical environment.     

The nature of interparental conflict of married and divorced parents: Implications for young adolescents

While research has demonstrated that interparental conflict is associated with poor child and adolescent functioning, studies have not yet addressed the characteristics of such conflict. The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to report reliability and validity data of a questionnaire, the Interparental Conflict Questionnaire (ICQ), designed to assess the nature of interparental conflict more thoroughly than has been done previously, and (2) to compare the nature of such conflict in a married and divorced sample. Fifty-five married and 46 divorced parents, all of whom had a young adolescent, participated by completing two questionnaires: the O'Leary-Porter Scale and the ICQ. Validity (e.g., correlation with the O'Leary-Porter Scale) was generally acceptable for the ICQ, whereas test-retest reliability tended to be moderate to low. Additional findings indicated that heated arguments rarely occurred. Furthermore, in comparing married and divorced parents, the former discussed issues more and, to some extent, the latter argued more. However, one of the most striking aspects of the findings was the similarity of the married and divorced samples in terms of their conflict. Implications of the findings for understanding and explaining the role of interparental conflict in child and adolescent functioning are explored.This study was supported, in part, by the William T. Grant Foundation and the University of Georgia's Institute for Behavioral Research.     

Application of a Temporal Persistence Model to Community Residents' L]ong-Term Beliefs about the Three Mile island Nuclear Accident1

Little is known about the conditions under which beliefs and attitudes about an issue or event will persist over time. The present research took advantage of a “natural experiment”, namely, the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear accident, in order (a) better to understand the nature of individuals' b]eliefs about a major event to which they were exposed and (b) to evaluate a conceptual formulation developed from laboratory-based experimental literature concerning when beliefs and attitudes are likely to be temporally persistent. Data were collected over a 3-year period following the accident from two samples of community residents: mothers of young children who lived within a 10-mile radius of TMI and TMI nuclear power plant employees. Samples of mothers and workers from a western Pennsylvania comparison site were also included in the study design. Results supported the persistence model in several respects. First, TMI subjects' b]eliefs, although more extreme than comparison subjects' v]iews, showed virtually no change during the study period. Second, the factors that the model suggests should account for the observed persistence were indeed consistently important predictors of TMI subjects' b]eliefs over time. Implications of the results for future applied work on long-term reactions to major events are discussed.     

故事情景下儿童回答问题的反应倾向

本研究选取5、6、8、10岁儿童各32名,采用故事情景来考察儿童处于不可回答问题情况下猜测答案的倾向.研究结果表明:(1)5～10岁儿童在故事情景下面对不可回答问题时存在猜测答案的倾向,且年龄差异不显著.(2)问题形式对儿童猜测答案的倾向有显著影响,较不可回答的开放问题,儿童在不可回答的封闭问题上的猜测答案倾向更强烈.(3)在不可回答的封闭问题上,儿童倾向给出否定的答案.     

I Think We’re Alone Now: Solitary Social Behaviors in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Research into emotional responsiveness in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has yielded mixed findings. Some studies report uniform, flat and emotionless expressions in ASD; others describe highly variable expressions that are as or even more intense than those of typically developing (TD) individuals. Variability in findings is likely due to differences in study design: some studies have examined posed (i.e., not spontaneous expressions) and others have examined spontaneous expressions in social contexts, during which individuals with ASD—by nature of the disorder—are likely to behave differently than their TD peers. To determine whether (and how) spontaneous facial expressions and other emotional responses are different from TD individuals, we video-recorded the spontaneous responses of children and adolescents with and without ASD (between the ages of 10 and 17 years) as they watched emotionally evocative videos in a non-social context. Researchers coded facial expressions for intensity, and noted the presence of laughter and other responsive vocalizations. Adolescents with ASD displayed more intense, frequent and varied spontaneous facial expressions than their TD peers. They also produced significantly more emotional vocalizations, including laughter. Individuals with ASD may display their emotions more frequently and more intensely than TD individuals when they are unencumbered by social pressure. Differences in the interpretation of the social setting and/or understanding of emotional display rules may also contribute to differences in emotional behaviors between groups.     

Mindfulness and Emotional Distress: the Mediating Role of Psychological well-Being

The present cross-sectional study aimed to clarify the relationships among specific facets of dispositional mindfulness, psychological well-being, and emotional distress. To understand the relationships among these variables is crucial in order to expand the knowledge of the processes underlying mindfulness effects and to develop effective interventions. The participants (119 Italian males and females; mean age = 29 years) completed self-report questionnaires assessing mindfulness (i.e., observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging of inner experience, non-reactivity to inner experience), emotional distress, and psychological well-being. Path analysis revealed that each facet of mindfulness played a unique role in influencing emotional suffering. In line with our prediction, no significant correlation emerged between the observing facet and either psychological well-being or emotional distress. Both the capacity to describe inner events and to act with awareness had an indirect effect on emotional distress, which was fully mediated by the perception of psychological well-being. On the other hand, the capacity for non-reacting to emotions and thoughts directly influenced emotional distress. Interestingly, non-judging inner events showed both a direct and indirect effect on the outcome variable. These findings confirmed the significant role of psychological well-being in mediating the relationship between some facets of mindfulness and emotional distress. Moreover, different mindfulness abilities play specific roles in reducing emotional distress, so mindfulness should be considered as a multidimensional construct.     

Perceptions of Adequate Personal Time and Wellbeing among African American Families with Adolescents

The current study examines the perception of adequate personal or leisure time, and its association with family and caregiver functioning, among a sample of low-income African American families. The investigation is grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory which predicts that caregivers who perceive more adequate personal time will also report higher levels of optimism and lower levels of depressive symptoms, and will have adolescents who report more household routines and less psychologically controlling parenting. A total of 115 caregiver-adolescent (age 14–18) dyads were recruited from a low-income, predominantly African American neighborhood in a major metropolitan center in the United States as part of a larger survey on African American family life. Results indicate that caregivers report perceiving inadequate amounts of time to sleep, get enough exercise, and relax. Caregivers also report comparatively less adequate personal time than time with children. Analyses reveal that caregivers who perceive having more adequate leisure or personal time, report fewer depressive symptoms and higher levels of optimism, after controlling for perceptions of adequate financial resources. Alternatively, there was no association between perceptions of free or leisure time and parenting behaviors, including maintenance of household routines and the use of psychological control. The results underscore the need to examine non-material resources, and their association with wellbeing.